The Night the Rumor Found Us

“Impossible.”

Chen Xintian was certain. Pei Du couldn’t possibly have any relationship with that little runt He Chengxi.

She had investigated Pei Du’s preferences; the category “a” would never exist among his choices.

“Sis, the news came from Class One. From what their class says, even that Xu Daohui who’s always liked He Chengxi has practically gone red-eyed with jealousy.”

Her younger sister Chen Xinmei picked the cilantro out of her beef noodles, mentally adding this beef noodle shop to her blacklist.

She had clearly said no cilantro, so why was there still some?

“It’s just rumors blown out of thin air.”

Chen Xintian added a spoonful of vinegar, feeling the noodles tasted too bland.

“Rumors…” Chen Xinmei didn’t understand why her sister was so convinced this was fake, with the firmness of a love-brained wife refusing to believe her husband had a mistress. “Sis, what exactly do you like about Pei Du?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

While drinking the broth, Chen Xintian denied liking him.

This was a taboo she couldn’t discuss with her sister. Her reasons for approaching Pei Du were inconvenient to tell anyone.

Not even her own sister.

Unless—until she succeeded, tasted the boy’s irresistibly tempting body, and then announced it to everyone from the posture of a victor—only then would it count.

“Am I even your biological sister?”

“I came out of Mom just a few minutes before you. You tell me whether that’s biological or not.”

“Then why won’t you tell me the truth?”

Chen Xinmei pinched her sister’s arm, her tone resentful.

“I’ll tell you eventually.”

“Sis!”

“Be good.”

…

Picking up his phone, Pei Du ignored the goofy expression Zhao Yu was making.

—Just now, in the middle of the anime, his phone had popped up with a message notification from He Chengxi.

Pei Du regretted it for a second, realizing he’d forgotten to set Do Not Disturb for this new contact.

Moments ago, Zhao Yu had asked whether there was something between him and He Chengxi, and now a message from her arrived.

What a coincidence.

“Classmate Pei, I heard a lot of people are saying idle gossip. I’m really sorry if it’s affecting you.”

(Sticker of a cat bowing apologetically)

When He Chengxi returned to school, she realized the spreading rumors might not affect her, but they could affect Classmate Pei.

Feeling uneasy in her conscience, she sent an apologetic message.

If it affected Classmate Pei, she would have to let her family think of a way to handle it.

The girl felt restless.

For some inexplicable reason, she didn’t really want Pei Du to end up disliking her because of this.

“What gossip?”

Pei Du pretended to be clueless while fully aware.

“Well… in short, Classmate Pei, if you hear any bad rumors and feel uncomfortable, you can come talk to me!”

He Chengxi awkwardly explained the situation to Pei Du and could only offer a solution.

Her voice would be shy, her head bowed very low—Pei Du imagined the girl’s interesting appearance as she said this in front of him.

“Alright.”

After replying, Pei Du glanced at Zhao Yu’s teasing expression.

“There’s nothing between us.”

“I get it,” Zhao Yu threw a flirtatious wink, looking smug. “I get it, I get it. Young Master, no need to explain.”

“I wasn’t planning to explain either.” Pei Du tidied the bowls and chopsticks and opened the cake chilling in the lower part of the fridge.

A transparent cover protected the chocolate base. Inside, the ice cream cake was dusted with a thin layer of cocoa powder.

On top were the words: “Happy Eighteenth Birthday.”

Opening the cover, he gestured for Zhao Yu to show how big a slice he wanted.

Zhao Yu gestured a smaller piece, indicating he couldn’t handle much ice cream—it would upset his stomach.

“Young Master, happy birthday!”

“Thank you.”

Having a good friend sitting beside him celebrating, with family-prepared food and a cake—the thought alone was enough—Pei Du was already satisfied.

At Zhao Yu’s strong insistence, Pei Du clasped his hands together and made a wish.

‘Be true to yourself.’

…

When he returned to the classroom, some classmates were already seriously working on test papers.

Students who weren’t usually diligent would, in senior year under pressure from parents, school, and peers, also start working hard.

Though in the worst class, Class Seven, quite a few still gathered to play on phones, discuss celebrities, and gossip.

Pei Du noticed some classmates sizing him up with strange looks. He didn’t care and also began seriously solving problems.

Tonight’s evening study was supervised by the math teacher, who would inevitably assign a test. He worked on a couple of function threshold problems in advance to warm up.

Scoring over 130 in math wasn’t just talent—Pei Du also made good use of fragmented time.

As the top student of Class Seven, he was practically the most valued disciple among all their subject teachers.

Math Teacher Yang stood right beside him during the test.

If the front section was all correct, he would nod in satisfaction. If there was a slight mistake, as soon as Pei Du moved on, the considerate teacher would guide him to the issue.

Classmates were long used to the teacher’s favoritism.

They also genuinely admired Pei Du.

Someone who could maintain around 130 even on the hardest tests, occasionally reaching the 140s, deserved some special treatment.

And the greater others’ expectations, the heavier the burden you carry.

As the face of Class Seven, the responsibility on Pei Du’s shoulders was no small thing.

The homeroom teacher saw him as the academic benchmark, the sole confidence Class Seven had to compete against Class Six.

Math Teacher Yang, who taught both Classes Six and Seven, hoped Pei Du’s math scores could suppress the top students from the earlier classes, letting him brag a bit among fellow math teachers.

Pei Du himself felt that one should study properly when studying and play properly when playing—there was no need to shoulder excessive pressure.

The evening study passed quickly amid test papers and Teacher Yang’s private tutoring.

Zhao Yu was a boarder and had to attend the dorm students’ evening study.

He waved goodbye to Pei Du, saying they’d keep in touch on their phones.

As for why boarders hadn’t handed in their phones?

Well, there were spare phones for that.

Senior students trickled out of classrooms.

Some classes were still dragging on, with no students out yet.

Carrying a backpack with only a few test papers inside, Pei Du felt light.

The walk to school was full of thoughts, but the journey home was much more carefree.

“Classmate Pei?”

The school lights weren’t on yet. This stretch outside relied solely on moonlight.

He Chengxi spotted a tall, familiar figure by the roadside.

No one was beside him. His posture was straight and proper.

Moving closer, she confirmed it really was Classmate Pei.

The hazy moonlight outlined the girl’s slender figure. Her under-one-and-a-half-meter height was wrapped in an oversized school uniform.

Beneath her wispy bangs, her round almond eyes looked like mint candy soaked at the bottom of a glass, reflecting clear light as she tilted her head to look at him.

“Mn.”

Pei Du responded, noticing the girl was alone. The other girl from the afternoon wasn’t there.

The evening wind rustled the camphor tree leaves along the road.

The girl fumbled in her pocket for a moment and took out a piece of chocolate with premium packaging.

“Classmate Pei, here, have this.”

Pei Du usually declined snacks like chocolate and candy.

He was just about to refuse when he realized the girl had already stuffed the chocolate into his hand.

“I’m really sorry about this afternoon,” He Chengxi’s voice flowed along the wind into Pei Du’s heart. “Classmate Pei must have already sensed it, right? The classmates are spreading a lot of gossip. If I hadn’t pulled you into playing ball, it wouldn’t have…”

“No need to apologize,” Pei Du interrupted her, slipping the chocolate into his pocket. “It was a choice we both made together.”

The boy’s eyes were bright and clear, making He Chengxi look at him a few seconds longer.

“Host, the system provides a sample reference, selected from ‘The Great Matchmaker’—A chaste woman and her adopted son, gravely harmed by rumors. Who would have thought that, under the gossip, supporting each other, they would ultimately step into the hall of marriage.”

System, shut up.